Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien. (Seattle Channel file photo)Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien is maddening, not just becausehe looks at everything through a far Leftist ideology, but because thatis what makes him so inconsistent and nonsensical.

In a recent interview on KUOW, O’Brien hysterically railed againsthousing developments that build parking spots. He whined: “Why should weas a city say ‘You have to build parking even if people don’t want it…’because what that means is, we’re subsidizing parking, and if we reallywant to be that city that addresses our climate needs, we can no longerbe subsidizing parking.”

Oh, wow. There’s a lot to analyze with this silly comment.

First: Mike O’Brien is implying a whopper of a lie. Seattle is indesperate need of parking both in or near housing. We’ve been routinelytold that a huge part of traffic congestion in parts of the city is dueto drivers hunting, unsuccessfully, for parking spots. There’s virtuallyno parking around transit centers, which is why Councilmember RobJohnson is looking for solutions. O’Brien doesn’t know this because he’sa rich white cisgendered straight dude with privilege. Those of us wholive in apartments in Seattle are spending up to nearly $300 a monthjust to park. That price is high due to something O’Brien neverunderstood: supply and demand. There’s a lack of supply and a high demand.

Second: He ignores that people want parking, but let’s live in his dreamworld where no one wants parking because no one drives. His argument isthat we shouldn’t build expensive things that people don’t want. Great.I mostly agree with that. But this is the guy who wasted over 1 millionon a bike share program few used and even fewer wanted. He supportsbuilding interconnected bike lanes, taking lanes away from cars andtransit, that go almost entirely unused and cause more traffic while thebike commuting continues to decline. It’d be great if O’Brien’s logicextended to his bike riding hobby.

Third: Mike O’Brien’s not even really concerned with the economicargument he so poorly makes, which explains why it’s so weak. He’sreally only taking an extremist environmentalist position (and yes, he’san extremist — if it were up to him, there’d be no cars on our road).He’s anti-car because of the environmental toll cars can take (excepttaxi cabs; those are the right kinds of cars because they’re supportedby the union he services in order to stay in power).

This ~is~ the same clowncil-twat that refused to allow city workers tohose human waste off of sidewalks in front of city hall because itreminded him of police hoses used against civil rights protesters downsouth in the '60s.

Rantz: Car-hating Mike OBrien makes no sense whatsoeverShareBY JASON RANTZJANUARY 8, 2018 AT 5:09 PMSeattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien. (Seattle Channel file photo)Seattle City Councilmember Mike OBrien is maddening, not just becausehe looks at everything through a far Leftist ideology, but because thatis what makes him so inconsistent and nonsensical.Rantz: Despite investing millions, Seattle bike commuting declines againIn a recent interview on KUOW, OBrien hysterically railed againsthousing developments that build parking spots. He whined: Why should weas a city say You have to build parking even if people dont want it because what that means is, were subsidizing parking, and if we reallywant to be that city that addresses our climate needs, we can no longerbe subsidizing parking.Oh, wow. Theres a lot to analyze with this silly comment.First: Mike OBrien is implying a whopper of a lie. Seattle is indesperate need of parking both in or near housing. Weve been routinelytold that a huge part of traffic congestion in parts of the city is dueto drivers hunting, unsuccessfully, for parking spots. Theres virtuallyno parking around transit centers, which is why Councilmember RobJohnson is looking for solutions. OBrien doesnt know this because hesa rich white cisgendered straight dude with privilege. Those of us wholive in apartments in Seattle are spending up to nearly $300 a monthjust to park. That price is high due to something OBrien neverunderstood: supply and demand. Theres a lack of supply and a high demand.Second: He ignores that people want parking, but lets live in his dreamworld where no one wants parking because no one drives. His argument isthat we shouldnt build expensive things that people dont want. Great.I mostly agree with that. But this is the guy who wasted over 1 millionon a bike share program few used and even fewer wanted. He supportsbuilding interconnected bike lanes, taking lanes away from cars andtransit, that go almost entirely unused and cause more traffic while thebike commuting continues to decline. Itd be great if OBriens logicextended to his bike riding hobby.Third: Mike OBriens not even really concerned with the economicargument he so poorly makes, which explains why its so weak. Hesreally only taking an extremist environmentalist position (and yes, hesan extremist  if it were up to him, thered be no cars on our road).Hes anti-car because of the environmental toll cars can take (excepttaxi cabs; those are the right kinds of cars because theyre supportedby the union he services in order to stay in power).62 CommentsShareTop Storieshttp://mynorthwest.com/861907/mike-obrien-makes-no-sense/?